Carro, formally known as Trusty Cars, is seeking to bolster its market position in Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore as well as broadening its financial services. The company is targeting an initial public offering in the US within the next two years, CEO Aaron Tan said in an interview.
“An IPO remains on the horizon for us,” Tan said. “Eighteen to 24 months is achievable.” He added that the firm is on track to handle more than 200,000 used-vehicle transactions this year.
SoftBank Group Corp has minted a number of unicorns this year. They include Singapore-based patent analytics provider PatSnap and Indian banking technology provider Zeta.
Carro simplifies the car buying and selling process for both consumers and dealers by leveraging artificial intelligence, Greg Moon, managing partner of SoftBank Investment Advisers, said in the statement. SoftBank has been backing Carro since its venture capital arm SoftBank Ventures Asia first invested in the startup in 2016.
Photo: Bloomberg
